This Is the Worst American City for Beer Lovers

By Douglas A. McIntyre Published Oct 19, 1:00PM EDT

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This Is the Worst American City for Beer Lovers — © adamkaz / Getty Images

Data about beer consumption in America is usually robust. According to beer news site, Beer Info, U.S. beer consumption by people 21 years or over totals 28.2 gallons per person per year. That is about a six-pack per week. Since not all Americans drink beer, the figures for those who do must be much higher on an annual basis — with many no doubt regularly imbibing some of America’s 30 oldest beers.

Consumption is usually high in the Plains States. North Dakota tops the list at 45.8 gallons per adult a year. Montana is third at 41 gallons and South Dakota is fourth at 38.9 gallons. At the far end of the spectrum is Utah, at 20.2 gallons. In addition, there are rankings of best and worst cities for beer lovers. The worst American city for beer lovers is San Bernardino, California.

Lawn Love has been able to break down the best and worst cities for beer lovers. This list delivers very different results than state consumption data does. It uses different metrics. Across America’s 180 largest cities, Lawn Love measured access to establishments where people drink beer. It also ranked what it calls “establishment quality,” a yardstick of consumer rankings. It looked at beer quality and costs. It listed its sources as BreweryDB, Eventbrite, Great American Beer Festival, Livability, Meetup, North American Brewers Association, World Beer Awards, and Yelp.

Each of the measurements was weighted to calculate an overall score for each of the 180 cities. The highest among them posted a score of 55.07. The lowest score was 14.46, for San Bernardino, California.

24/7 Tempo listed the 50 worst cities for beer lovers. The two largest states by population, California and Texas, dominate the worst 10 cities. California has two more cities among the worst 10: Fontana with a score of 21.01 and Bakersfield with a score of 21.02. In Texas, Plano has a score of 18.38 and Laredo a score of 19.05.

Virginia also has two cities among the worst 10 for beer lovers, Chesapeake, with a score of 20.55 and Virginia Beach with a score of 21.19. Rounding out the list, Columbus, Georgia, has a score of 17.07; Kansas City, Kansas, has a score of 17.8; and Scottsdale, Arizona has a score of 20.96.

Two geographic areas dominate the top of the list — the best cities for beer lovers. Among the Pacific Northwest states, Spokane, Washington, has a 55.07 score, the highest nationwide. Portland, Oregon, ranks second with a score of 53.41. Seattle ranks fourth with a score of 48.97. With that beer, you might want a burger — this is the best American city for burger lovers.

Click here to see the worst American city for beer lovers
Click here to read our detailed methodology

> 50. Memphis, Tennessee
> Overall score: 27.98
> Drinking places: 5.2 per 100,000
> Total population: 651,932

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> 49. Fort Wayne, Indiana
> Overall score: 27.88
> Drinking places: 16.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 265,752

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> 48. Omaha, Nebraska
> Overall score: 27.77
> Drinking places: 32.8 per 100,000
> Total population: 475,862

> 47. Amarillo, Texas
> Overall score: 27.49
> Drinking places: 26.7 per 100,000
> Total population: 198,955

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> 46. Los Angeles, California
> Overall score: 27.33
> Drinking places: 7.8 per 100,000
> Total population: 4.0 million

> 45. Naperville, Illinois
> Overall score: 27.05
> Drinking places: 7.9 per 100,000
> Total population: 147,501

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> 44. Newark, New Jersey
> Overall score: 26.63
> Drinking places: 11.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 281,054

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> 43. Stockton, California
> Overall score: 26.60
> Drinking places: 6.6 per 100,000
> Total population: 309,228

> 42. Pomona, California
> Overall score: 26.48
> Drinking places: 7.8 per 100,000
> Total population: 152,209

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> 41. Clarksville, Tennessee
> Overall score: 26.47
> Drinking places: 6.0 per 100,000
> Total population: 152,934

> 40. Murfreesboro, Tennessee
> Overall score: 26.43
> Drinking places: 4.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 136,366

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> 39. Mobile, Alabama
> Overall score: 26.35
> Drinking places: 10.4 per 100,000
> Total population: 190,432

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> 38. Pembroke Pines, Florida
> Overall score: 26.30
> Drinking places: 8.5 per 100,000
> Total population: 170,072

> 37. Bellevue, Washington
> Overall score: 26.23
> Drinking places: 15.8 per 100,000
> Total population: 144,403

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> 36. Alexandria, Virginia
> Overall score: 26.15
> Drinking places: 3.2 per 100,000
> Total population: 157,613

> 35. San Jose, California
> Overall score: 26.15
> Drinking places: 7.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 1.0 million

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> 34. Fresno, California
> Overall score: 25.94
> Drinking places: 6.4 per 100,000
> Total population: 525,010

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> 33. Lancaster, California
> Overall score: 25.87
> Drinking places: 7.8 per 100,000
> Total population: 159,028

> 32. Fremont, California
> Overall score: 25.85
> Drinking places: 9.8 per 100,000
> Total population: 235,740

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> 31. Bridgeport, Connecticut
> Overall score: 25.69
> Drinking places: 6.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 145,639

> 30. Rockford, Illinois
> Overall score: 25.64
> Drinking places: 20.0 per 100,000
> Total population: 147,070

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> 29. Anchorage, Alaska
> Overall score: 25.58
> Drinking places: 11.6 per 100,000
> Total population: 293,531

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> 28. Irving, Texas
> Overall score: 25.07
> Drinking places: 9.4 per 100,000
> Total population: 239,783

> 27. Augusta, Georgia
> Overall score: 25.05
> Drinking places: 10.4 per 100,000
> Total population: 197,191

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> 26. Salinas, California
> Overall score: 24.96
> Drinking places: 5.5 per 100,000
> Total population: 156,143

> 25. Palmdale, California
> Overall score: 24.80
> Drinking places: 7.8 per 100,000
> Total population: 156,293

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> 24. Irvine, California
> Overall score: 24.29
> Drinking places: 7.7 per 100,000
> Total population: 273,157

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> 23. Rancho Cucamonga, California
> Overall score: 24.13
> Drinking places: 4.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 176,379

> 22. Port St. Lucie, Florida
> Overall score: 23.99
> Drinking places: 6.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 189,396

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> 21. Henderson, Nevada
> Overall score: 23.79
> Drinking places: 20.5 per 100,000
> Total population: 300,116

> 20. Toledo, Ohio
> Overall score: 23.65
> Drinking places: 21.6 per 100,000
> Total population: 276,614

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> 19. Modesto, California
> Overall score: 23.61
> Drinking places: 6.6 per 100,000
> Total population: 212,616

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> 18. Newport News, Virginia
> Overall score: 23.33
> Drinking places: 3.3 per 100,000
> Total population: 179,673

> 17. Fayetteville, North Carolina
> Overall score: 23.33
> Drinking places: 9.3 per 100,000
> Total population: 210,432

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> 16. Montgomery, Alabama
> Overall score: 22.73
> Drinking places: 5.3 per 100,000
> Total population: 199,783

> 15. Jackson, Mississippi
> Overall score: 22.09
> Drinking places: 3.8 per 100,000
> Total population: 166,383

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> 14. Brownsville, Texas
> Overall score: 22.08
> Drinking places: 8.8 per 100,000
> Total population: 182,271

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> 13. Mesa, Arizona
> Overall score: 22.00
> Drinking places: 7.9 per 100,000
> Total population: 499,720

> 12. New York, New York
> Overall score: 22.00
> Drinking places: 13.6 per 100,000
> Total population: 8.4 million

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> 11. Riverside, California
> Overall score: 21.54
> Drinking places: 4.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 326,414

> 10. Virginia Beach, Virginia
> Overall score: 21.19
> Drinking places: 4.4 per 100,000
> Total population: 450,201

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> 9. Bakersfield, California
> Overall score: 21.02
> Drinking places: 6.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 377,917

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> 8. Fontana, California
> Overall score: 21.01
> Drinking places: 4.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 210,759

> 7. Scottsdale, Arizona
> Overall score: 20.96
> Drinking places: 7.9 per 100,000
> Total population: 250,602

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> 6. Chesapeake, Virginia
> Overall score: 20.55
> Drinking places: 2.5 per 100,000
> Total population: 239,982

> 5. Laredo, Texas
> Overall score: 19.05
> Drinking places: 5.5 per 100,000
> Total population: 259,151

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> 4. Plano, Texas
> Overall score: 18.38
> Drinking places: 2.8 per 100,000
> Total population: 287,064

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> 3. Kansas City, Kansas
> Overall score: 17.80
> Drinking places: 9.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 152,522

> 2. Columbus, Georgia
> Overall score: 17.07
> Drinking places: 9.7 per 100,000
> Total population: 195,739

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> 1. San Bernardino, California
> Overall score: 14.46
> Drinking places: 4.1 per 100,000
> Total population: 216,089

To determine the 50 worst American cities for beer lovers, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from lawn care company Lawn Love’s 2021 Best Cities for Beer Lovers. The 180 largest U.S. cities were ranked based on 21 measures assessing the access to, quality of, and cost of beer and beer establishments, as well as community. 24/7 Tempo added data on the number of drinking places in the city and surrounding county from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 County Business Patterns and was adjusted for population using five-year data from the Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.